Sale of beef banned in Indian-held Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday imposed ban on sale of beef in the state, local news paper reported on Thursday.

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A division bench of State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal heard thepetition seeking ban on the slaughter and sale of beef in occupied Kashmir.

A Public Interest Litigation against cow slaughter was filed by Advocate Parimoksh Seth.

The court has directed the concerned authorities to take steps to ensure that the ban is strictly implemented.

The ban comes at a time when the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is under fire for banning meat in Mumbai for 4 days during the Jain festival.

A renewed thrust by Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protect cows, worshipped by majority Hindus, has led to a clamp down on beef trade run mostly by Muslims.

India is the world s second largest beef exporter and fifth biggest consumer.

Maharashtra, India’s second most populous state, extended a ban on the slaughter of cows to bulls and bullocks since March.

Other BJP-led states such as Jharkhand and Haryana have also tightened curbs.

Modi, who in his election campaign last year criticised the previous government for promoting beef exports, in 2011 spearheaded a ban on beef trade in his home state of Gujarat that he led for more than a decade.